Injury
by Daseyforever77
Summary: Casey sprains her wrist at volleyball practice. Derek takes care of her. Companion piece to Unexpected Talent but can be read alone.


Casey sprains her wrist at volleyball practice. Derek takes care of her. Companion piece to Unexpected Talent but can be read alone.

Casey opened the door to the house and stormed in. She spared Derek a glance and continued her route to her room. Derek was confused; she had been so happy all day at school. He wondered what could have made her so upset in only two hours. He debated following her, deciding whether he could deal with her tears. He got up from his chair and went to his room. He decided if he heard her crying, he would intervene. Relaxing on his bed with a comic book (or graphic novel, as he so persistently insists), he waited for his signal to go talk to Casey.

Casey, on the other hand, was far from relaxed. She was so stressed that she couldn't concentrate on anything. She attempted to review her notes from class but was distracted by her thoughts and worries. Frustrated, she threw her book across the room (with her left hand); it landed on the ground with a hard _thud. _She felt the tears build up from frustration and the constant striking of pain in her right wrist. She knew it was sprained but didn't want to make a big deal of it. A huge tournament was coming up, and she wanted to be able to play. No one knew she injured her wrist because Casey had asked Coach to stay a few extra minutes to perfect her serve. She was alone in the gym. When it happened, she attempted a jump serve, but the ball hit the wrong part of her hand, causing it to twist weird. She let out a cry of pain, thankful that no one had heard it. She quickly put all the equipment away and made her way home. She persevered through driving home, even though it felt like someone took a hammer and hit her wrist with it every time she turned. She slammed the door to the car with her good hand and stomped up the steps to the McDonald-Venturi household.

Casey was overthinking her injury. She began to hyperventilate at the thought of sitting out for the tournament. Tears began to flow down her cheeks; she was so angry at herself for getting injured. Then, the weight of letting the team down hit her and quiet tears turned into heart-wrenching sobs.

Derek heard the cries from Casey's room and felt a harsh tug on his heart. He got up and quietly knocked on her door.

"Case, can I come in?" Derek asked, bracing himself for the yelling.

"Go away, Derek! I'm having a crisis!" Casey argued.

"Casey, let me in," Derek demanded.

"No!" Casey protested. (Directioners, I had to :) I love that video)

Derek gave up arguing his way in. He took a hair pin and hacked the lock on her door. He shoved the door open and found Casey curled up in a ball, sobbing her heart out. He rushed over to kneel beside her.

"Casey, what happened?"

"I'm such an idiot, Derek!" Casey exclaimed.

"What?" he asked, confused. He clearly understood this was not a time for insults or jokes.

"I'll never play again!"

"Casey, what are you talking about? What happened?"

He noticed she was cradling her wrist.

He asked again, this time more upset. She sat up and launched herself into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, stroking her hair. She calmed down enough to talk.

"I hurt my wrist at volleyball, but no one knows because I want to play next week in the tournament," she explained. "You can't tell anyone, Derek. I want to be able to play, not sit the bench on my first tournament." Derek took her wrist gently in his hands, running his fingers over her skin.

"Where did you hurt it?"

She pointed to the joint at the bottom of her thumb and drew an imaginary line down to her wrist. She then proceeded to pull her arm away from him.

"Let me look, Case," he calmly but firmly stated. She caved and he inspected her sprain. She had some nasty swelling and puffiness, but it didn't look broken.

"Casey, this is nothing. Listen to me, with some ice and rest, you'll be just fine. Take some Ibuprofen and you'll need a brace for practice and games until it's healed. Okay?'

"Okay. Thanks, Derek," she smiled. He stood up to get her ice, medicine, and a cup of water. He returned and instructed her on what to do and what to avoid doing. Casey yawned, and Derek pulled back the covers to her bed, settled her, and kissed her forehead.

"Get some rest, Case. You'll feel better soon." She didn't respond because she had already drifted to sleep. He smiled softly at her sleeping form before standing up and gingerly closing her door.


End file.
